The garment industry is a slave to fashion. Consumers want, and get, the "look" which is in fashion at any particular time. Over the last ten years or more, finishing has been viewed as the way to achieve at least some garment characteristics which are desired by the consumer. Frequently, these characteristics relate to the appearance, washability or softness of the garment. Thus, chemical and mechanical agents have been used to change the appearance and feel of, for example, denim fabric to make the resulting product more desirable by the consumer.
Once such finishing techniques were widely adopted, manufacturers began to notice problems, particularly with chemically finished garments, of premature wear of garment fabrics. This seemed to occur predominantly in the area around pockets, and was often characterized by holes forming in the substrate fabric around or near the upper corners of the rear pockets on trousers such as jeans.
This problem escalated in 1994, with a very large number of returns for 1995-1997. In 1998, for example, almost half of consumer returns sent to Levi Strauss & Co. consumer affairs department were for holes around the corners of the back pockets of jeans. Other manufacturers seem to be having similar problems. Since there appears to be about a two year period from the date of manufacture to the date of return, this is a significant problem which will extend into the future for a period of several years.
This problem was initially attributed to the use of chemical agents, such as cellulase enzymes, which are difficult to control and which can significantly degrade substrate fabrics if not properly neutralized after use. However, the hole problem has more recently been observed in "hard jeans" returned to the manufacturer as a result of consumer complaints. Since "hard jeans" are garments which have not been subjected to chemical or mechanical finishing, it is clear that this problem is not one that cannot be solved alone by changing enzymes or by closer adherence to good neutralization practices during finishing.
Accordingly, the need exists for a method for producing garments to substantially alleviate the premature wear occurring around the pockets of garments.